Celemony Melodyne Plugin (Recording)

If there was ever an appropriate music analogy to Sauron's Ring of Power (from The Lord of the Rings), it would be the Melodyne Plugin. While it is true that in Pro Tools you can shift pitch by using the pitch-shifting effect in the non-real time Audio Suite menu, and you can stretch and fix tempos with the Elastic Time option in Pro Tools 7.4, Melodyne just makes those tasks a snap. It's like magic. No, better: Melodyne is like treating waveforms as MIDI.

The current version of Melodyne works best with monophonic sounds, that is, single-note melodies. Melodyne can only modify the tempos of multi-track recordings (like drums) and polyphonic sounds (chords and the like). (It has been reported that the next Melodyne version will decipher chords so you can fix/modify chord pitches.)

Keep in mind, that Melodyne can be used for "evil" too. Like Autotune, a producer can go perfection-crazy by fixing all sorts of notes and make a performance into some soft of pop music "perfection" (artifice would be the actual term). If your producing needs need that Autotune function, then by all means, go for it. However, you are just scratching the surface when it comes to manipulating the sounds around you: With Melodyne, you can make avian choirs from sampled bird chirps from your backyard and highway orchestras from the various cars zooming by your street - with actual melody, harmony, and tempo!

Yes, the Melodyne Plugin will take Pro Tools into the realm of Photoshop-for-the-ears in light-speed time. It works as VST, AU, and RTAS, so non-Pro Tools users can also experience the power of Melodyne! Check out the Celemony website for more information. The Melodyne Plugin costs between $250 and $300. The anticipated polyphonic upgrade will cost $130, or $400 for the full version (new users).

Just make sure that this and other plugins don't corrupt you musically (that's subjective!) and turn you into Gollum! Happy recording, my preciousss...

FXpansion VST to RTAS Adapter (Recording)

FXpansion's VST to RTAS Plug-In Wrapper is one of the most essential of essential Pro Tools add-ons. It opens the door for you to use a myriad of free/open source VST plug-ins in Pro Tools. (Just Google it!) Normally, VST plug-ins would not work in Pro Tools, as it uses proprietary RTAS technology instead. The adapter wraps most VST plug-ins so that Pro Tools will accept it for RTAS use.

Be warned, though, that not all free VST plug-ins are coded well enough for use in Pro Tools (you get what you pay for). For every new wrapped VST plug-in you must test it in Pro Tools, especially during the "Bounce to Disk" process. A faulty VST plug-in might cause an RTAS error, crash your session, or worse!

For more information, please go to the FXpansion website. The program usually costs between $100 and $120 (depending on the current conversion from Great Britain pounds to United States dollars). FXPansion also sells a sister program that wraps VST plug-ins as AU plug-ins, for use in Apple's Garage Band and Logic (and other Apple production programs).

Be careful, but have fun recording!